At the turn of the century, we all knew software would change the pro audio industry, but aside from generalities, it was difficult to predict the exact details of how hardware and software would handle their burgeoning relationship. Now, after decades of software/hardware couples counseling, let’s step back and see how that relationship is faring.
One prominent indicator is the symbiotic relationship of networked hardware systems (like Dante) that are defined by software. Networked audio is becoming part of a larger world, as exemplified by Acuity, Inc.’s acquisition of QSC. QSC is a highly successful pro audio company, while Acuity Brands has been known for decades as a commercial and architectural lighting behemoth in a mature field. It has physical lighting networks already embedded in building infrastructures, and it has developed long-term contractor relationships.
What Acuity did not have was a general-purpose, software-defined control layer. A key reason for Acuity acquiring QSC was its Q-SYS protocol, which was considered a crucial part of Acuity’s Intelligent Spaces initiative, because Q-SYS added audio/video expertise to HVAC control and building analytics expertise gained from previous acquisitions. By incorporating audio/video, Acuity could expand into areas where AV control is essential, not optional (e.g., theaters, airports, sports venues and so on).
However, the deeper implication is that the acquisition of QSC was not specifically about wanting a standalone pro audio business. Increasingly, audio is becoming a part of overall corporate strategies.
With the iPod, iTunes and Logic, music became part of Apple’s hardware ecosystem. Logic was no longer a music company’s flagship DAW, but a complement to Apple’s core hardware business. When streaming services devoured the music industry, music was transformed into content distribution over a network. When music left its silo of record stores and home hi-fi systems, it started to ride the coattails of the internet, where convenience often trumps quality.
What made the streaming takeover possible was a previous seismic shift. In the 20th century, film studios typically owned record labels. Films required music, so owning that music allowed for the monetization of soundtracks and contracted talent. MGM, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Disney and Universal Pictures all owned record labels. They saw music as an extension of their film business. Nonetheless, when film studios implemented financial restructuring to increase profitability, that often meant selling off divisions.
As record labels became standalone businesses, they started going through a period of mergers and acquisitions to the point where we’re currently down to the “big three” labels: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. However, while media companies were exiting music, tech companies were embracing it.
From Apple to Amazon to YouTube to Spotify, music is now part of a tech-based environment that runs over the world’s biggest network—the internet. You don’t own music. It exists on some company’s hardware, in an anonymous data center.
Meanwhile, tech companies realized that many people held on to hardware for as long as they could. Splitting off music, so it could be part of tech companies or IP-oriented corporations, established music as an independent income stream that was part of a much bigger picture. The subscription model became another element of this seismic shift.
Hardware is—more or less—permanent. Software has become a moving target, where to make use of its hardware framework, you need to rent the software.
On the recording side, of course, software has largely replaced signal processors and tape recorders, but it’s not stopping there. Studios now share their dominance with online collaboration, which has expanded into cloud-based “virtual studios.” The hardware that was the backbone of studio sessions, and the pride of a studio’s backline, is being replaced by synthetic sounds running on AI programs.
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So where does this all leave us? The relationship between hardware and software used to be nonexistent, because hardware was the only game in town. Then software started to become embedded in hardware, which led to new opportunities. Thanks to firmware updates, it is no longer always necessary to “finish” a product before shipping it.
The next step was software replacing hardware, except for the computer on which the software had to run. And now, even that might be changing. A tablet or smartphone may not host a music program, but instead connect to cloud-hosted music software.
One software benefit is that the cost of entry keeps decreasing as software replaces hardware. Another benefit is the new and amazing capabilities. No analog synth could have hundreds of parameters, but virtual instruments can. You don’t have to pay big bucks for reels of tape or spend time demagnetizing tape heads. For many people, the software world is easier—and less costly—to navigate.
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On the flip side, with this convenience comes a loss of control. A EULA can change at any time. A company can suddenly decide to adopt a subscription model. A developer that makes copy-protected software can go out of business, making it impossible for users to re-install programs they rented. And, as with the Acuity and record label examples given earlier, audio can be absorbed into ever-bigger systems that exert their own control.
The power dynamic in the hardware/software marriage has undergone a seismic shift in the past 40 years, to where software is now the partner driving many of the shared decisions. Whether this is good or bad is in the eye of the beholder, but there’s every reason to believe that software’s dominance will only continue to increase.